Don't You Know You're Beautiful
by americanhoney139
Summary: Clearwater High is where the action happens. Tori is a fifteen year old sophomore with trouble of her own. Cat is a senior and managed to snatch Homecoming Queen. Jade's a teacher who just got ditched by her now ex-boyfriend. Can they all find the beauty?


Don't You Know You're Beautiful

_Hey, little girl with your tangled hair _

_Your tattered clothes_

Tori brushed her snarled hair back sadly and sighed at the her reflection in the cracked mirror. Using her already stretched out scrunchy, she put her hair up in a messy bun, some wavy pieces falling into her face and covering her eye. She pulled on her ratty jeans and her father's old Sherwood High sweatshirt to cover up her skinny figure. She should have been proud that she managed to stay skinny, but her ribs were starting to show through her tank-tops. "Tori, you have to go!" her mother called from the other end of their small apartment. The brunette sighed again- she had been doing that a lot lately- and walked out to where her mother was putting the last of the bread, ham and cheese together to make her small lunch.

"Mom, this was a bad idea," Tori admitted as she accepted the brown paper bag from the older woman.

Tori's mother, Holly Vega, shook her head. "Nonsense, Vic," Holly smiled, using her late husband's nickname for their daughter. "Your father would have wanted you to achieve your dreams, and that's exactly what you're going to do." She looked at the only digital clock in the house and pushed Tori to the door. "Now hurry, before you're late!"

"Mom," Tori turned around, "don't you see what this is doing to us?" She gestured to their small apartment: one long hallway that led to two small bedrooms and a bathroom that stood across from the kitchen, a few windows, but not much else. "This private school is sucking up all the money we make and there's nothing left for us." Tori's mother had enrolled her in a private school for performing arts and it's was so expensive that both Tori and her mother worked long hours- Tori went straight from school to her work at a movie theater close by and she sang in the park from time to time (she had to pay the monthly license fee to do that though)- and they still had to scrape the money together.

"Just go," Holly pushed her daughter out the door, backpack in hand, and the brunette was off to another day of torture.

_Your fifteen and you're bound to bloom_

_Just like a rose_

She walked into her homeroom and took her seat in the back, immediately pulling out her notebook and the few pages of script that the class had had to analyze for homework. She could hear the usual whispers and wished that she had hearing aids so she could just turn off the sound if she wanted to. But she couldn't, so she would have to deal with the taunts and teasing words that the other kids threw at her. "Scholarship girl," was one, "Pauper," was another.

Tori hadn't come from a rich family, unlike all of the other kids attending Clearwater High School, a private school for the preforming arts. They had riches and were treated kindly by the staff, unlike Tori herself who was sent to the principal's office if she even did one bad thing. No one stood up for her and she stood out like a sore thumb with her ratty pale pink converses (they had originally been neon pink) and her jeans that hadn't been pre-ripped. But she had always dreamed of being a singer and actress, so hopefully she could achieve her dreams and help pay her mother back for all the woman had done for her. Even after losing her father to a drunk driving accident, Tori found herself stronger and more willing than ever to show her dad she could do it.

_You're wishing that you had designer jeans_

_Like the ones you see in magazines_

At lunch Tori would sit by herself near the garbage cans, a social leper. Immersing herself with her homework from pre-lunch classes, she ignored the smell, the pointing and jeering of her classmates, and most of all she avoided the curious gaze of the hottest guy in school.

Beckett Oliver, with his supposedly fluffy hair and his charming smile, was usually the talk of the school. Clearwater High had a gossip chain that scared Tori; if one didn't find out about something fifteen minutes after it happened, they were usually one of the Lesser kids. Girls fawned over him but he avoided them. Tori didn't understand why, though; she would have been happy if one of the 'Lessers', as they were known to the popular group of the school, talked to her at all. Beck wore dark designer jeans that sometimes had a chain strung from front pocket to back, a jean jacket or a red and black flannel over a wifebeater, real combat boots, and a smirk that made even the stoniest girl swoon. He had ever girl, except Tori.

She knew what he really was. He was sort of like her in a way: he hated school, he hated his father for pushing him to take over the school after he retired. She had never actually talked to him, but just by using what her mother had called 'Tori Senses', she could see through the strong wall he had put up. She had always been good at reading people she wasn't familiar with and it was mostly the people who tried to hide their feelings but subconsciously showed them through things people wouldn't usually look past. Like his smirk, or his casual lean against a locker. She sighed as she thumbed through a thrown out magazine she had found at her job. Designer this, actress that, yada yada yada. The brunette wished she could afford even one article of clothing from somewhere that wasn't a cheap store. For once in her life, Tori felt selfish.

_I know you'd give anything_

_Just to fit in_

The Blackbox Theater was the only place she could run after school. She loved the dark of the empty movie theater, where she could sneak in between movies and just be by herself before she had to go back to her job. "Hey," a voice made her jump and she looked up only to gasp. Beck Oliver was standing right in front of her, dressed in the same uniform she had seen on many of the male workers. A dark shirt with the theater name and jeans, but his signature jean jacket was still there, which made her smile. She blushed and looked down, turning the page of the script she had received for Professor West's Plays&Script class. It was called Uptown, Downtown, and was about a girl named Penny who wanted more than just to be loved for her exterior features. Tori was going to try out for the actual play of it their school was putting on later in the year, pushed by the only two teachers she liked; they seemed to be working together to help her achieve her dreams. "I said, 'hey'," Beck spoke again. "Are you hard of hearing?" But she could hear the teasing in his voice and it made a small smile appear on her lips.

Instead of answering the question presented to her, she asked, "Why are you talking to me?" She hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh but it did and she immediately felt guilty. But he just chuckled and sat down next to her, lazily throwing his arms over the top of both seats next to him, one of them hers. She could feel the tips of his fingers brushing against her sweatshirt covered shoulder and she suppressed a shiver when she felt the skin of his arm brushed the back of her neck.

"Why wouldn't I talk to you?" he replied to her question with another one of his own. She looked up and smiled a true smile at him, as opposed to the fake smile she put on everyday.

"Because you never talk to me," she responded, looking down instead of at him. She didn't see his quizzical stare and she didn't see the way his eyes reflected some sort of guilt. "But I can understand why," she sighed and rubbed a frayed sleeve in her fingers. "I mean, you're super popular and I'm, well, I'm me."

_But your worth ain't on a price tag_

_It comes from within_

"Well, that's good that you're just, well, you," he smiled at her as he repeated her words "Look, Tori, I'm sorry," he apologized, making her head snap up and her eyes met his. The dark chocolate irises made her stomach fill with nervous hummingbirds but she ignored it. He could see the surprise in her eyes and the caution shimmering through her light brown eyes. "But you know how it is at school."

She nodded. "I'm surprised you even know my name," she chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair; she noticed he did that often when he was stressed, nervous, embarrassed, or anxious. "But that's okay, because I'm guessing most of the people in our grade don't know my name."

"Why?" Beck asked, looking honestly confused. "According to my teacher, you're the best actress/singer at our school. Everyone should know who you are!" Tori pressed a hand to her fluttering heart and smiled. He seemed to really be surprised that their fellow classmates didn't know who she was.

"I got into Clearwater on half-scholarship, Beck," she admitted. "Me and my mom are scrambling every month to pay the tuition fee and rent for the apartment… even the permit I need to sing in the park for extra change." She gasped and covered her mouth; she had never revealed that to anyone but Professor West and Professor Harris. But for some reason she felt she could spill her secrets to Beck and he wouldn't think any less of her. She watched as his eyes showed emotions in waves: pity, curiosity, compassion and something else she couldn't decipher.

_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Don't you know you're beautiful?_

"They're probably just jealous," Beck reassured her. Tori was about to respond when they heard the door open. A girl with vibrant red hair came in and walked up to Beck with a big smile on her face. Tori suddenly felt something flair up in her stomach when the girl giggled and sat down in the chair beside him. "Hey, Cat," he greeted her.

"Beck, what are you doing here?" she asked. Tori recognized her as a senior at Clearwater High. They shared Plays&Script class with Professor West and the brunette assumed she was slightly bipolar. "Oh, hey, Tori!" The girl smiled and waved, followed by a giggle. Tori was surprised she had even been noticed sitting on the other side of Beck, and the fact that Cat even knew her name. "Beck, you're supposed to be manning the cash register downstairs with Robbie." The red head shot him a mock glare before both of them cracked up. Tori shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling like such a third wheel.

"I'll be down in a minute, Cat," he reassured her. She nodded and bounced off, waving goodbye to Beck before shutting the door behind her. "She's quite a character." His wide smile didn't make Tori feel like smiling. He noticed her looking down at her hands and he took one of them in his own, making her jump slightly. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

Tori felt tears coming to her eyes; Beck had shown her more care in fifteen than anyone, other than her mom and supportive teachers, had shown her in the fifteen years. She wiped at her eyes. "I'm fine," she reassured him, hoping he hadn't heard the crack in her voice. But when he knelt in front of her and brushed her bangs from her face with a warm hand, she knew he had and she cursed herself for it.

"No, you aren't," he said, his voice filled with concern. "Tor, look at me." She looked up, her heart fluttering with both the nickname and the little space left between them. "Please tell me what's wrong; I care about you."

"Why would you?" the brunette rasped, a tear sliding down her cheek. "It's not like you're going to talk to me again after today." Beck brushed his thumb over her cheek and she realized tears had slowly began to slide down her face. "I'm not for you, Beck, not even enough to be your friend," she admitted, more to herself than him. "I'm not pretty, or smart, or talented or-" She froze and looked up when he softly pressed his lips to her chin, stopping a tear from falling into the hollow of her throat.

"_Don't you know you're beautiful?_" he asked her. His dark brown, almost obsidian, eyes looked deep into her own before he softly pressed his lips to hers, stealing her first kiss. And what a kiss it was! His lips were soft against her own inexperienced pair and she leaned forward as he pressed them harder against her own lips. When he pulled away she opened her eyes- not even realizing she shut them in the first place- and he smiled at her, his hand still cupping her cheek. "_Just the way you are_," he whispered before kissing her softly again.

* * *

_Hey there, little home coming queen_

_In that back seat_

"And Homecoming Queen is…" Cat clasped her hands together tightly. Her boyfriend stood before the crowd with a plastic crown on his head, smiling down at her. She suppressed a giggle and waited with baited breath as they announced the Queen. "Catarina Valentine!" The bouncy red head squealed in delight and rushed up to her nerdy boyfriend, ignoring all the glares from the 'popular' girls in their grade and just being happy to share one more special dance with her boyfriend. Cat giggled when she heard her friend Emily Rosen play Long Live by Taylor Swift, which was her and Robbie's song as it was.

"We were the kings and the queens," she sang softly as she rested her head on his shoulder as the song went on. "You traded your baseball cap for a crown." She felt his body shake as he chuckled, pulling her closer to him.

"And the cynics were outraged, screaming this is absurd," he responded in song, even though it was farther along than what she had sang. "Cause for a moment a band of thieves, in ripped up jeans, got to rule the world." She beamed as he led her in a slow waltz, which she always joked was not his forte.

After their dance was over, the other students crowded onto the dance floor. The popular girls gave her scathing looks and Robbie received jeers and cruel remarks from the jocks. "Just ignore them," Cat told him when she felt his shoulders slump. He was always asking her why she was with him, why she didn't ditch him for some other hotter guy. But her response was always the same, 'Because I love you for who you are, not by what you look like or what you like to do.'

_I bet his brown eyes_

_Are promising you everything_

Cat giggled again into the kiss and she felt her boyfriend smile against her lips. They fell into the back of his car and she felt her stomach began to twist. "Robbie," she breathed as she pulled away from his lips. Her hands were twisted into his tuxedo and one of his hands were at her lower back, the other tangled in her hair. "I can't believe it." Her smile widened.

"Believe it, Kitten," he told her, a smile of his own spreading across his face. That had been his nickname for her ever since she entered Clearwater Middle School. "You're homecoming queen." She giggled again and put her face in the crook of his neck. His glasses were askew and his Jew-fro was slightly matted with sweat from the heat of their bodies. She could feel it in the kiss how much he wanted her.

_I know you want to be_

_Just like your friend_

She thought it over in her mind as he kissed her. She weighed the pros and cons of what they could eventually end up doing. Her best friend Emily had told her that the first time hurt… but after that it was amazing. Cat knew that everyone knew that she and Robbie weren't 'active' as they teased her. She shivered when she felt his hands slide down her side. Her stomach continued to clench with nerves as he pressed her down into the leather seat.

_But he'll still love you_

_If you don't give in_

Cat tore her mouth from Robbie's as she tried to breathe deeply. "Cat…?" his breathy whisper echoed through the car and her soul. "What's wrong?" She looked up to see his concerned brown eyes looking down at her.

"I-" she started, "I can't do this, Robbie." She sat up and pulled away from him, looking out the window. "I'm sorry." She almost jumped when she felt his warm hand on her strapless shoulder, raising goosebumps on her arm.

"No, I'm sorry," he apologized as he slid over to where she sat against the door. "I don't want to pressure you into anything you're uncomfortable with." His voice was barely above a whisper as he pulled her into a hug from behind.

"But-" she started, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. His eyes where showing true compassion and sorrow, but not because she wouldn't, but because he felt he had tried to force her. He pressed his lips to hers softer this time but pouring all his love into it.

_If those girls are being honest_

_That have been were you're at_

The next day the jeers were even worse. They teased Cat of being a vegan, which was the school's codeword for a virgin. She shivered as she passed from class to class without the comforting presence of her boyfriend. He was meeting with the rest of senior class officers so she was left alone. Emily was with him, while Cat was alone to suffer the taunts and teases of her fellow classmates.

She noticed a familiar head of brown hair sitting near the trashcans of the cafeteria during lunch. "Tori!" she shouted when she was close enough. The brunette looked up from the Uptown, Downtown script she had been studying; at first she looked startled until she realize who was calling out to her. Confusion swam in her chocolate brown eyes when the red head sat down across from her, but Cat just gave her a happy smile. "Hey, Tori."

"Not to be rude or anything," Tori started, waving her forkful of salad in the air. "But why are you sitting with me? Or talking to me at all?" Cat felt hurt.

"Why wouldn't I talk to you?" she responded with her own question. "Your my friend." Tori's brown hair hung down around her, swishing as she shook her head.

"We are?" Tori asked, taking another bite of her salad. Cat nodded vigorously as she took a bite of her pizza. "I didn't know that. You've never sat with me before." She stared quizzically at the bouncy red head, who only smiled back

"We work together at The Blackbox Theater, you're in my P&S class, and we both know Beck," Cat listed. Tori blushed at the last one. Tori and Beck had gone for dinner after they were done at the movies and then he had driven her home. But Cat couldn't possibly know that. The red head chattered on about things, trying to avoid the topic of homecoming, but Tori could see right through her.

_I bet they'd tell you that they wish_

_They had their innocence back_

"Hey, you were Homecoming Queen, weren't you?" Tori asked, looking hopeful. Cat stopped talking and looked down. Tori noticed. "Are you okay?"

"I-" Tori watched as the bouncy red head struggled for words. Tori reached over and took the small girl's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Me and Robbie almost did 'It'." Cat squealed and covered her mouth with her hand as if she had said a bad word.

"So…" Tori was confused as to what was so bad. "That isn't so bad." Cat looked shocked.

"Tori!" Cat slapped her arm.

"What?" Tori shrugged. "You stopped yourself because you were uncomfortable." Cat held her gaze.

"So?" Cat asked, looking unmoved. Tori rolled her eyes and sighed.

"So… you're not like all those other tramps who like to show off because they slept with, like, half the football team," Tori smiled. "You restrained yourself and Robbie respected that."

"Yeah, but they still tease me," Cat pouted. Tori shook her head.

"You shouldn't care," Tori reassured her. "If they were being honest, those girls that have been where you're at, I bet you they'd tell you they want their innocence back." Cat, for the first time all day, smiled widely.

_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Don't you know you're beautiful?_

"Hey, beautiful," a voice said as a tray was set down next to her own. She looked up to see Robbie smiling at her with a loving expression in his brown eyes. "Hi Tori." The brunette across from her smiled, blushed, and looked down.

"Robbie!" Cat wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek. She flushed when she heard Tori 'aww' in the background. "I thought you were in a meeting…"

"I was," he told her. "But I couldn't let my beautiful girlfriend each lunch all alone could I." Tori, across the table, looked hurt before Robbie laughed. "But I see that position has already been filled." Tori beamed and chuckled.

"But you can stay the rest of the time, right?" Cat asked, looking hopeful.

Robbie shook his head. "I just wanted to see you. We're planning the senior trip, but everyone needed a bathroom break and to get their lunch." Cat pouted until he kissed her softly. "I wish I could, Kitten. But I am the president, after all." Cat nodded and shooed him away.

"See, he doesn't care that you didn't want to take the next step in your relationship," Tori told Cat once Robbie was gone. "He loves you just the way you are."

Cat giggled. "You're starting to sound like that Bruno Mars song," she swatted Tori's arm. Tori rolled her eyes and finished her lunch. Cat was smiling as they entered Professor West's Plays&Script class. They sat together and Professor West shot them a smile before starting class.

Halfway through the class Cat felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She took out her phone and beamed when she saw the text from Robbie.

*_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Just the way you are_.*

* * *

_So he left you for a girl that could be your twin…_

_If you were twenty-eight again_

Thirty-two-year-old Jade West, Plays&Scripts Professor at Clearwater High, threw her best scissors at the dartboard covered with his pictures. She hated him. The man who had told her he loved her so many times had left her for another girl. That girl could have been Jade's look-alike… if she was twenty-eight again. She felt warm tears running down her cheeks, probably carrying mascara with it. A knock on the door made her stiffen. "Jade, you in here?" asked a familiar voice. It was him.

"Wilson, go away!" she screeched angrily as she waited for him to open the door. When he did she screamed and threw the scissors one of her students had gotten her for Christmas; they were from 'This Scissoring' and she always kept them sharp. The blond ducked and looked behind him in surprise as he found the shape object embedded in the wall, leaving a crack.

"I just wanted to bring you your stuff," he told her as he threw down three duffel bags and a suitcase full of shoes. "Jazzy moved in and I wanted to get your stuff outta there." Jade felt rage begin to pool in her veins, coursing through them like blood. "Bye." He waved nonchalantly and shut the door just as her next pair of scissors shattered the glass window in her wooden door.

With a sob she collapsed, clutching her head in her hands, knees folded and tucked under her chin. "I hate my life," she whispered. Another sob exited her mouth as she began to cry harder. Just because he had found another girl, didn't mean he had to kick her out of her own apartment. Wilson had moved in with her, not the other way around.

"Jade," a voice broke through her tears and she stiffened yet again. Not because Wilson was back but because it was her insanely attractive coworker Andre Harris. He taught Improv classes across the hall from her and sometimes, during her prep period, she would be able to hear shouting matches of 'I love you's going on for the 'Shouting Happy Thoughts As If Angry' improv technique. "Jade, you in here?" She could see his shoes, but he wouldn't be able to see her from where she was hiding folded up behind her desk.

A breath rattled past her lips as his feet got closer and closer. She knew he would look skeptically at the luggage on the floor before his feet moved over to stop in front of her desk. "Jade, what are you doing down there?" he asked. She looked up to see his dark skinned face looking over the side to find her pressed against the wall, black rivers running down her cheeks.

"I'm throwing a party," she snarled, patting herself on the back for being able to be sarcastic even when she was in pain. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He sighed and came around the desk, sliding down the wall, his thigh touching hers. She shivered slightly from the close proximity to someone who wasn't her now ex-boyfriend. Then she began to sob because she thought of him.

"Jade, please tell me what's wrong," Andre begged. Jade looked up to see his brown eyes pleading with her. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, happy for the comfort of someone else.

"Wilson left me for this bleach blond tramp who's could almost be my twin," Jade told him honestly. She felt the explanation easily rolling off of her tongue as she found safety in his presence and comfort in his eyes. "He kicked me out of my own apartment, dammit!" she shouted, kicking the wooden desk and leaving a dent with the heel of her boot. "Now I don't even have a place to spend the night." She broke down again and sobbed. Andre drew her from her folded position and pulled her into his lap, where he let her soak his white shirt with mascara and cry until she had no tears left.

"You could stay at my place," he offered. He had always been drawn to her: her ferocity, her sass, her sarcasm, and even her mean streak. Jade looked up, her ice blue eyes wide in surprise. "I have a guest room you could stay in until you find your own place."

"You would really do that for me?" she breathed. In the past they hadn't spoken more than small conversations and greetings in the hallways. Actually, she had sat with him at lunch, but that was because they had the same lunch period and other teachers were with them. He looked down at her with a smile on his face and she couldn't help but give a small one of her own.

"Because I wanna," Andre shrugged as if it was nothing. "Now, we should get those bags of yours into my car, or do you want to follow me?" She just smiled as she stood up, dusting off her jeans and pulling him quickly to his own feet.

"We can carpool," she told him. "Cat Valentine is always complaining how my car uses too much gas." He chuckled as he grabbed the duffle of shoes and a suitcase. She followed him to his Audi and they were off to his house.

_Let him go (let him go)_

_Let him fly (let him fly)_

Jade woke up to the sound of knocking. She mumbled and turned over in her half sleep and blinked rapidly when she saw pearly white teeth shining down from a dark skinned face. "Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up," Andre told her, his huge smile still present. What he didn't know was that she wasn't a morning person, even though he was. She only growled at him and covered her face with a pillow, which he just pulled off.

"Go 'way!" she snarled and tried to swipe at him with her nails. He just laughed and went to the edge where he literally pulled the covers off of the whole bed. "Andre!" she screamed in breathless anger, which sounded more like laughter, and curled herself into a ball by pulling her legs up under her chin.

"You gotta wake up, Jade," he told her, putting the covers at the end of her bed. "I've got coffee downstairs, but you can't have any until you're all ready." She groaned, but rolled off the bed and collapsed on the floor at his feet, looking up at him with sleepy eyes. He laughed again and helped her to her feet, and she gasped when he pulled her close to his body. His eyes were like molten chocolate, his skin warm against hers. For some reason, she couldn't understand why her heart started fluttering and she could feel his breath hot against her neck. She felt a hot flush covering her face and she looked away in embarrassment, black hair creating a curtain between them.

"I should-"

"I'm gonna-"

They said it at the same and both blushed. Andre rubbed the back of his neck and backed out of the room, almost tripping over his own feet as be struggled to get away from the awkwardness. Jade, still blushing, looked anywhere but at the man standing before her. As soon as he was out of the room she collapsed onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

After she had gotten dressed and ready, she slowly made her way down the stairs to Andre's kitchen. She found him, his back to her, making something she couldn't see on the stove. "Hey," she spoke softly around the sound of the flame crackling. He turned around and smiled a soft smile; she found herself comparing everything Andre did to everything Wilson didn't do. Andre pulled her of bed in the morning instead of the other way around; Andre cooked her breakfast instead her making herself a pot of coffee and leaving; he had even comforted her when she was crying instead of just letting her be to wallow in her own sorrow.

"Good morning," Andre smiled as he turned around, a pile of bacon on a plate and a smile on his face. "I made breakfast." She smiled kindly at him, even though she knew she would never eat the bacon, and sat down slowly on the edge of the counter. She steepled her fingers and made a teepee as she watched him finish the eggs he was making.

"Thank you," she smiled sincerely as he slid a plate across the grey marble counter and handed her some silverware before taking his own seat. He shoveled bacon and eggs into his mouth while Jade just picked at her eggs and sipped her coffee. She checked the clock above the stove and elbowed the dark skinned man in the side. He looked up in confusion, egg yolk dripping down his chin, and she laughed loudly.

"Wha'?" he asked, wiping his mouth which only made it worse, therefore making her laugh even harder.

"You've got something," Jade sniggered and pointed to the left side of her lower lip. With his tongue he tried to collect the drops of yellow but it only made him look like a cat or canine licking it's lips. He just grabbed her napkin and, ignoring her "Hey!", he wiped his mouth.

"We should get going," he said as he checked the clock again. Jade rolled her eyes and brought their dishes up to his sink- she planned to wash them later- and they got going. Jade shouldered her bag and Andre opened the passenger door for her. She blushed but got in anyway. He smirked as she sang to the song on the radio, her voice echoing through the car.

_Keep your head up_

_Get on with your life_

As the weeks went by Andre and Jade fell into a routine. She continued to stay at his house but now she insisted they share jobs. And so while she washed the dishes, he dried them. "Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow?" Andre asked as she passed him a glass to dry. She looked at him with confusion-filled eyes. "I was wondering if you wanted to rent The Corpse Bride." Her eyes shown with mirth as she agreed; it was one of her favorite animated Tim Burton movies after all. "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow," he joked and she laughed again. She was so glad that she had found someone that could make her laugh and in return understood her slightly twisted humor. And she's glad that she's finally found someone she had connected to on a deeper level than just puppy love.

_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Don't you know you're beautiful?_

The next night found Jade and Andre under the covers in the master bedroom, popcorn between them and smiles on their faces. Andre's fingers were intertwined with Jade's above the top sheet and her head had taken it's usual spot on his shoulder. "I love this movie," Jade whispered as they watched. Andre chuckled and ran his other hand through her hair, fingers tangled in the blue and green streaks.

"I know you do," he replied. She had repeated those four words at the beginning of the movie too, and now that it was the end she seemed to want to bring it up. She looked up at him and smiled sleepily.

"The message is great, too," she told the dark skinned man. "The bride realizes that she can't have his love if he won't give it to her. So she lets him go…" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she realized what she had just said. "Like me." Andre smiled and wrapped an arm around her as she began to cry softly, the end of the movie turning to background noise as he focused on the raven haired woman in his arms.

"You've got me, Jade," he told her sincerely. "You'll always have me." She looked up to see a soft smile on his face and she reached up with her empty hand to cup his cheek in her hand.

"I'm glad…" she whispered, and that was all she could say before he leaned down to kiss her softly. Her eyes widened in surprise before they fluttered shut and she leaned into his touch. He ran one hand through her hair while one of hers was wrapped lightly around his wrist.

He pulled away and a smile traveled across his face as her eyes fluttered. Her icy blue eyes had melted and a shimmering blue ocean of calm reflected in them instead. "I-" she started but ended up biting her lip instead, unable to articulate what she wanted to say.

"Let's just finish the movie," he told her as he rubbed her arm. She smiled lazily up at him before she curled on her side, her head resting on his pillow and raven hair splayed out behind her. He felt her breathing even against his arm, where she was facing, with a small smile on her face.

"_Don't you know you're beautiful?_" she heard him tell her the next morning as they found themselves cuddled on the bed. She smiled into his lips as he woke her up and she blinked awake.

"_Just the way you are_." She giggled.

"You're so cheesy," she laughed, punching his shoulder. He pouted and rubbed his arm, faking hurt, but she could see right through him and her smile just widened. "But I love you." He beamed and their lips got reacquainted and their love explored.

* * *

_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Don't you know you're beautiful?_

**(Several Weeks Later…)**

"I got the part!" Tori Vega, one of Jade's favorite students, shouted as she rushed into the room. To Jade, Tori was like the daughter she never had. The sophomore wasn't popular- like Jade herself was in high school- and she stuck close to her teachers instead of those her own age.

"I'm so proud of you," Jade hugged the brunette tightly. Tori smiled as she hugged the woman she had grown to love like an older sister. "I knew you would, Vega."

"I can't believe it, though," Tori shook her head. "I mean, Tara and Hayley both tried out for Penny. They're the most popular girls and they always get the leads." Tori still looked unsure of herself. "What if this is all a prank to get me excited and then bring me down?"

Jade shook her head and rolled her eyes at her doubtful student. "Tori, Professor Sikowitz picked you because he has faith in you," she told the girl. "I know that with you as Penny, this play is going to be amazing." She grabbed the script from Tori's hands. "Who got the bellman?"

"I don't know," Tori shrugged. "He had me running lines with his assistant Sinjin Van Cleef." The brunette shuddered. "He was creepy the whole time!"

Jade laughed. "I bet someone better than Sinjin got the part," the raven haired woman reassured her with a smile. "But I'm so proud you got to part, Tori. You worked hard for it, and you deserve it." The brunette beamed and hugged the older woman.

"So you got the part?" came a deep masculine voice from the doorway. Both student and teacher spun around to see a smirking Andre. Tori laughed, nodded, and rushing into the dark skinned man's arms. "Great job, girl." Jade rolled her eyes.

"I'm still in shock, myself," Tori admitted as she pulled away from him. He chuckled while Jade walked around to the back of her desk and sat down, putting her feet up. "I mean, it's gonna be my first show and all…" She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Do you know who got the bellman?" Jade asked Andre. "Vega, here," she motioned to the brunette, who had taken a seat in one of the desks, "didn't check the cast list." Tori stuck her tongue at the Professor.

"You guys don't know?" Andre asked, his eyes full of mirth. "This year they have two sophomores as the leads… which is weird cause that doesn't usually happen." He chuckled. "Maybe old Sikowitz has really gone off the handle this year."

"I think it's the coconut juice," Jade commented. "He says it gives him visions." Tori laughed. She loved hanging out with the two teachers; they felt like her older siblings, but sometimes they acted like her parents. She rolled her eyes as Jade threatened to throw her special scissors at the dark skinned man.

"Wait," Tori stopped them, but not before noticing that they were flirting more openly. She couldn't help but hide the smirk behind her hand. "You still haven't told us who plays the lead boy."

"Oh," Andre stood up. "Beck Oliver. Robbie Shapiro plays the rich man, but I don't think he's gonna be too good." Tori giggled, remembering Cat's boyfriend. "He's a little… off in the acting department."

"Yeah, but he's great in tech theater," Jade responded.

"Whatever," Tori rolled her eyes again. "Beck is my opposite! Ohmigod, I don't think I can do this. We have to kiss at the end of the last dance." She flushed when she noticed Jade's raised eyebrow and Andre's smirk.

"So, what's the big deal with that?" Jade asked. "I bet you've kissed him enough…" Tori swatted at her but Jade only smiled sweetly in response.

"And it's better than kissing Robbie," Andre reminded her.

Tori nodded. "Cat would kill me if I did that!"

"Yeah, but you and Beck actually have chemistry," Jade told her sincerely. "And when you have great chemistry off stage, you usually have amazing chemistry on stage." Tori nodded again. "Don't worry about it, Vega, you'll do fine." Tori could only hope her teacher was right.

_Don't you know you're beautiful? _

_Just the way you are_

The spotlight was only on Robbie and Tori, with Beck standing in the shadows. It was supposed to be almost the climax of the show with only one more song. Tori was dressed in a dark navy blue dress with red dots. Robbie was dressed like a rich man and Tori had to suppress the need to laugh.

"I- I don't know," Tori looked around as if she was debating with herself. Robbie took a step forward.

"Oh, come on!" Robbie cried in exasperation. "Why can't you admit you're in love with me?" He looked slightly desperate.

"Why are you in love with me?" Tori retorted as Penny, trying to find some meaning in the way he was proclaiming his love.

"Because, you're beautiful," Robbie told her. "Look at your face in the moonlight." Tori looked out on the crowd, toward the spotlight.

"I can't," she said softly, looking pained.

"You can," Robbie told her.

"No, a person can't look at their face," Tori shook her head, "it's impossible."

"Then marry me and I'll buy you a thousand mirrors," Robbie told her, trying to be persuasive.

"But that's so many!" Tori cried, covering her mouth with her hand.

"My father's a billionaire," Robbie admitted as if he was being modest. "I can give you everything you've ever wanted, and... I'm very good-looking." The geeky boy waggled his eyebrows and Tori bit her lip to keep from laughing. She could hear a giggle from the audience and she knew Cat was laughing.

"Humm... yeah," Tori looked unsure, and her nose slightly scrunched up in what could only be called disgust.

"Think." Robbie walked backward and, as the spotlight changed from the left to right side of the stage, his face was just background as Beck walked over to her. She stood before him and bit her lip, still unsure.

"I don't know," she whispered, her voice cracking. She felt a warm tear slip down her cheek. At the end of this scene she needed to decide which one she would choose as Penny- even though she already knew the answer was Beck… it was in the script and in her heart.

"It's okay that you don't know," Beck's hand was warm on her bare shoulder. His eyes were so kind and caring, and it was as if the stage no longer existed.

"But you deserve an answer," Tori whispered loudly, trying not to fall too far into his eyes.

"I can wait," his character reassured Penny, but she could feel the undercurrent of feeling coming from the boy himself. "For you I would wait a thousand years." His eyes were shining with feeling.

She pulled away and put her hand to her mouth to gasp again, mirroring her movements for when Robbie was on the stage. "But that's so many!"

"I know I'm poor," he told her as he took a step forward. "I know I don't have much to offer," he took another step, his eyes shining again. "But I do, love you." It was said with so much feeling that she had to stumble backward.

Tori turned around, wiping at her eyes with one hand as she swung the other. "Because I'm beautiful?" she asked, her voice strained.

"I don't love you because you're beautiful," he told her sternly. The spotlight shrunk as Beck took the few steps it took to close the space between them. Her back was still to him but she could feel his warm hand on her shoulder as he spun her around. Her breathing sped up as she realized how close they were and she could actually count the flecks of gold in his obsidian eyes. "You're beautiful because I love you." His eyes spoke to her in such a way that her whole body shook, her soul flew and she only had enough time to leap into his arms before Andre started the music.

Tori and Beck stood on opposite sides of the stage, arms stretched toward each other. "Suddenly, my choice is clear," Tori sang. Beck took a step forward and the brunette took a step back.

"I knew when only you and I were standing here," they harmonized.

"And beautiful, is all I see," Beck sang and Tori smiled at him in reassurance. He had been hesitant to sing but she had told him that he had an amazing voice.

"It's only you, I know it's true. It has to be," both of them sang again as Tori reached him. He took her in his arms and spun her around, wrapping his arms around her waist.

The song went on and they continued to dance as a pair flawlessly. Tori felt bad that she had to flick Robbie, and had slapped him in a previous scene.

"Suddenly I can see what I didn't before!" Tori sang loudly, pouring her soul into the song. "And I don't care what they say anymore!" Beck's eyes met hers and she beamed as he picked her up in his arms. "'Cause I'm falling, falling!"

"Finally falling, falling!" they sang together as the song reached it's crescendo. Tori felt Beck begin to lower her, their bodies pressed together the whole time until her feet were on the ground. Background dancers surrounded them and from the corner of her eye Tori could see Robbie struggling to get through. Tori arched her back as the last note of the song slammed down on them and Beck smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, who will it be?" Robbie's character asked in aggravation. "Him," he gestured to Beck with disgust, "or me?" He stood up taller.

Tori was about to reply when she heard Cat whisper loudly to Jade, who had told Tori that she would make sure Cat didn't interrupt anything, "That's my boyfriend! And my friends!"

Tori chuckled as she stood between the two boys. She looked at each before reaching out her hand to Beck, who intertwined their fingers and wrapped his other arm around her waist. "I've realized something on my journey through life," Tori spoke more to the crowd than Robbie, even if the final lines were directed at him. "I used to think looks were everything, but when you fall in love, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters but your feelings for the person you've fallen for."

"And what does that have to do with this?" Robbie asked, anger in his tone.

"It means that I don't care if you have money, or a yacht, because you just want me for my looks," she turned to Beck and kissed his cheek. "But this man wants me for what I look like on the inside more than what I look like on the outside. I love him because he can see past all of that." Robbie scoffed but Beck just smiled.

"And love is what makes you beautiful," he whispered the last line of the play as Robbie stalked off the stage in anger. As the light dimmed extremely slow, Tori spun around to press her palms to Beck's chest as he leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

There was a blackout before everyone came on stage to take their final bows. As soon as they exited the stage Robbie embraced Tori like a sister before he was tackled by his girlfriend. The brunette giggled and walked past the couple and squealed as she was picked up and spun around from behind.

"Put me down!" she shouted in breathless laughter. She caught the scent of car oil, man sweat, and some sort of lemony scent and smiled when she realized who it was. "Beck, put me down!"

His chuckle shook her body. "What will you give me if I do?" he asked in a teasing voice. She struggled with him and finally managed to spin around in his arms. Their faces were inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her face, smelling of mint and lemonade. She had given him a can as a good luck present after he told her it was his favorite beverage.

"I'll give you another kiss…" she told him. He beamed and put her down on her feet and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her soft lips to his. She could feel him smile into the kiss and she fisted his shirt in her hand.

_(Don't you know you're beautiful?)_

**(Three Weeks Later…)**

Tori ran at full speed into her boyfriend, almost knocking them both over. Instead he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed them against the locker to steady them. "Whoa, there, cowgirl," he chuckled. "What's got you so riled up?"

"Look!" she waved the letter in front of his face. Black lace delicately dotted with small music notes and the 'Happy Face, Sad Face' masks of the theater. When he shot her a confused look, she pressed on, "Read what it says!"

"Okay, calm down," he held up his hands. She laughed and leaned against his locker as he read out loud. "You are invited to the bonding of Jade West and Andre Harris. This weekend at the BlackBox Theater on May 2nd." He looked up with a smile.

"Isn't it great?" Tori was practically beaming and Beck could see the happy sparkle in her eye. "They always flirt while I'm in the room, but it's like I'm invisible… which is okay." Tori laughed.

"Tori!" Cat shouted as she barreled down the hall. "Look what I got!" The red head waved the invitation in front of the brunette's face until Tori pushed her hand down.

"I know, Cat," Tori chuckled. "I got one too." She showed Cat her own invitation. The red head squealed and hugged her even tighter. Beck chuckle and walked off with Robbie to Tech Theater.

As soon as the two girls stepped into Plays&Script class, Jade pulled them aside. Tori shot her a confused look but the blue eyed woman just shook her head. "Hey, Cat, how would you like to be a flower girl?" the raven haired woman asked. Cat beamed and nodded vigorously, her red locks bouncing. Tori laughed as the Professor sent Cat to her seat. The dark haired woman smiled kindly at the bipolar girl who was talking animatedly to her blond best friend in the corner of the room.

"That was nice of you, Jade," Tori told her. Ever since she had come to Clearwater High, she never actually called Jade and Andre Professor like she did with all the other teachers. Tori laughed as she watched Cat pretend to throw flowers into the aisles between the desks.

"She's like child," Jade said softly and Tori could see the compassion in her teacher's eyes. She smiled and squeezed her hand, which made Jade look up at her with a wide smile on her face. "I just want to adopt her!" Tori laughed before Jade actually pulled her out of the classroom, putting the senior Emily in charge.

"Jade, what are you doing?" Tori asked.

"Look, Tori," she started, letting the brunette go and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I didn't want to do this in front of the other students."

"Jade, what are you saying?" Tori asked, biting her lip and playing with the ends of her ponytail. Her brown eyes were full of worry, which is why what came out of Jade's mouth made her almost fall backward in surprise.

"Tori, nothing's wrong," the raven haired woman put a comforting hand on Tori's shoulder. "I was just wonder if you wanted to be my Maid of Honor." Tori fell back against the wall outside Jade's classroom, her eyes wide in surprise.

"You want me to... What?" Tori looked confused. Jade laughed at her reaction and slid down the wall next to her. "Why?"

"Because you're the closest thing I have to family," Jade answered sincerely. "I haven't seen my dad since before college, my mom died in a car accident, and I don't have any siblings." Her blue eyes were shining with sincerity.

"I'm sorry, Jade," Tori put her hand over the pale woman's, but Jade just smiled at her.

"Don't be," the older woman waved her off. "I would ask Andre, but, you know, he's gotta be the groom." That sent Tori into a fit of giggles and soon the two were sprawled on the floor of the hallway and no one had any idea where they were. The bell rang and, since they were in the back hallway, no one passed by them and they continue to laugh. Jade wiped a tear from her eye and looked sternly at the brunette. "So, will you do it?"

"Of course I will, Jay," she smiled, using the nickname she had given the woman when they had started their friendship that went beyond teacher-student bonds. "You're like my sister too." The raven haired woman stood up and wiped off the butt of her jeans before helping the other girl stand up as well.

"I love you," Jade whispered as she hugged the younger girl.

"I love you too," Tori whispered in return.

_Just the way you are_

Tori watched with a huge smile on her face as her 'sister' walked down the aisle arm in arm with Tori's own mother. Not only did Jade's father not show up, but he blatantly showed his disapproval of the pair. The brunette could hear the whispers as she walked just one step behind Cat, who was dressed in a beautiful red number with a pink stripe around the waist. Jade had wanted black but Tori talked her out of it before Cat burst into tears. Jade had begrudgingly allowed the pink, but Cat wore a black headband with a red rose to satisfy her friend.

"You look beautiful," the boy holding her arm whispered as she walked in step with him. She looked up to see Beck, his hair brushed and fluffy as usual, with a huge smile on his face. Andre had asked Beck, as his best friend and half-cousin, to be the Best Man. So now he was dressed in a black tuxedo with a tie to match Tori's midnight blue almost purple dress. He smiled as he wrapped one arm around her waist.

"And you look handsome," she whispered back, her head lightly on his shoulder. "But I think Jade really takes the cake." Tori smiled when she remembered how the shopping went. Jade wanted to be original and didn't want a traditional dress. She wanted black. So she and Tori had scoured every store they could find, but none had black. So Tori, being the intuitive girl she was, looked online. She had pointed out a dress, Jade had loved it, and they had ordered it the next day. Now that same dress was adorning her and it fit perfectly. Beck nodded his assent and the iPod at the end of the aisle plays Jade's favorite love song, Kelly Clarkson's Moment Like This. There was a huge smile on her face as she made her way slowly to the dark skinned guy in the white tuxedo.

**_Everything is perfect and life seemed to have worked out the kinks. Tori has finally gotten the special feeling of connection and friendship, even love. Cat has realized that one doesn't have to go the extra mile just to be loved. Jade realized that you can move on with your life after a breakup, and fall in love with someone new. Because life has a funny way of working out; one just needs to take the chance presented to them to find their dreams._**

**So... how was that? I worked on this for almost three weeks, so I really want to hear something more than 'that was great' or 'i love it'. I really want some feedback on it that really tells me how it is. I know it's kinda confusing because Jade and Andre are older/teachers, Cat and Robbie are seniors in high school, and Beck and Tori are sophomores. The dresses can be seen on my profile. Please review!  
**


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